The Beginning of an Odyssey
by StorySpy
Summary: Novelization of the opening level of Lost Odyssey. In one fateful day in the Highlands of Wohl, a war ends and a survivor's adventure begins.
1. In the Beginning

**The Beginning of an Odyssey**

**Copyright Notice**

The characters, places, and events from _Lost Odyssey_ belongs to Microsoft and game creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Which means they are used without permission but with affection.

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**Chapter 1: In the Beginning...**

Nobody knows how the war began. Not even the most brilliant of scholars know the origins of the conflict. However, it is widely known that it involves magic.

Thirty years ago, a new power mysteriously manifested itself unto the world. With its discovery came the Magic-Industrial Revolution, a major sociopolitical change that has occured in the recent history of civilization. This power came to be called "Magic Energy".

Even now, there are none who can explain why this power suddenly flourished as it did. However, what is known by the people is that before the mystic revolution, magic energy existed in all living creatures. But then humans discovered and harnessed this mysterious power. As a result, this wizardly reformation changed the face of society with the ability to cast spells granted to many magicians while a select few could wield the power of the elements, as well as the advent of Magic Engines, devices used to harness magic energy for lighting, entertainment, and transportation, among other things to make life easier.

Today, this magic energy permeates every corner of the world, bringing about many household luxuries, improving standards of living, and paving the way for technological advancement. Although some people bemoan the effect that this newly-magical world has on them, many believe that their lives are better than they had ever been in the past because of magic. Ever since the Magic-Industrial Revolution began, magic has changed the way people live, transformed the shape of industry, and has even altered the nature of war. Two nations have taken notice of this progress...and they have been drawn to battle because of it. Those two nations are the Magic Republic of Uhra and the heavily industrialized Kingdom of Gohtza. These two nations have very different, yet very interesting histories.

Long ago, Gohtza was an alliance of many small settlements led by elected representatives. These hamlets came together to improve living conditions and to fight the monsters that threatened the villagers. Over time, the more talented leaders gained control of larger territories until Gohtza's first king unified several of the tiny nation-states under one ruler. Gohtza's influence continued to expand until it covered nearly the entire continent.

When the Magic-Industrial Revolution began, the kingdom actively pursued magic research soon after its discovery. Because of this, Gohtza has gained a reputation as the most powerful nation in the world as it possessed the greatest military might as well as the most advanced magical technology. Basically, with magic energy being sold like a commodity in the kingdom, what the Gohtzan citizens lacked in wealth, they made up for in militaristic valor. Thus, as a young nation, it did battle with other nations in the area, spotting Gohtza's history with armed conflict and ultimately overwhelming its enemies.

To this day, Gohtza exists as an absolute monarchy ruled solely by Mars, King of Gohtza. Under his rule, this diplomatic nation makes no effort to subjugate its foes despite its power when in actuality, it would rather establish a balance of international power to ensure that no nation becomes more powerful than the others in order to promote peace.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Uhra has also gotten caught in the flow of progress. Over the course of the lifetimes of forty-three kings, Uhra was a country that flourished as a monarchy for centuries. However, King Zypha, the 44th king of Uhra, abolished the monarchy and established a republic that was to be led by a council of elected representatives.

When the Magic-Industrial Revolution brought about the influx of magic, Uhra took advantage of Magic Energy. The republic harnessed this power to better life for its citizens. For thirty years, the city-state primarily utilized Magic Energy to improve living conditions for the Uhran citizens by causing many commodities such as televisions, vehicles, and jukeboxes to be common.

That's not to say the republic is not formidable in the battlefield, which is why the secondary purpose of Magic Energy in Uhra is the development of military power. In addition to manufacturing magic engine-powered combat vehicles, magic has been applied directly to foot soldiers in order to keep them alive.

The introduction of magic had truly caused the nations of Uhra and Gohtza to become prosperous. Their progress has altered the face of the world. But their progress has proven to be painful and difficult.

Before the arrival of magic, the country of Gohtza had enjoyed a long period of success. This led the kingdom to believe that they were unstoppable. However, Gohtza's perpetual growth brought the country in contact with the city-state of Uhra. Unlike the other countries, Uhra wanted to gain a big influence in Gohtzan territory. So it was that a great rivalry was born.

Uhra had plans to conquer Gohtza which would've come to fruition were it not for the fact that fate worked against the Uhrans, geographically and politically. Gohtza had the upper hand as the large oceans and the brutality of the land voyage made it impractical for Uhra to launch an invasion. Furthermore, the nation of Uhra was undergoing a time of national strife which overshadowed international affairs. While there are some that are content with the nation's current state, others demand that Uhra be returned to the grand monarchy that it once was, even though such a decision would plunge the country into civil war. Gohtza did not have such problems.

However, the Uhrans were determined to press on and dominate the Gohtzans, in spite of their disadvantages. When magic made its introduction, these rival nations were determind to gain control of this new power. And so these two magical metropolises waged war against each other, with the very power of the elements having a hand in intensifying the savage conflict. The Uhrans were powerful, but the Gohtzans had industrial might.

Gohtza was also fortunate to possess the great strength of the canine-like beastmen of the kingdom's close geographical neighbor, the country of Khent. Gohtza's historians say that Khent was once an independent nation that was one of many that were annexed by the kingdom. Valuing military might and believing themselves to be powerful and superior, the beastmen of Khent favored raw power over all other essentials. Unfortunately, Khent underestimated the effects of Gohtza's rapid growth, a mistake that caused the young kingdom to acquire victory over the Khent race. Khent's assimilation into an ally of Gohtza after years of conflict was inevitable.

Uhra and Gohtza were of equal strength. The two countries were evenly matched in every manner imaginable. Many believed that the war would last forever.

But now, the war was about to reach its climax. The critical point has finally been reached. After many years, the hostilities were about to have an outcome, for on the Wohl Highlands, the nations of Uhra and Gohtza were about to finish this conflict once and for all.

At last, the final battle was about to begin and only the victorious side is getting out of it alive.


	2. Uhra, Prepare for Glory

**Chapter 2: Uhra, Prepare for Glory**

The Highlands of Wohl used to be peaceful, no matter what weather it saw. Even after a stormy day, this mountainous region of the world had an air of beauty to it. All that remained to serve as evidence that a rainstorm came to the Wohl Highlands was a sky full of thick grey clouds and small puddles of rainwater that dotted the landscape. The highlands didn't need to be a part of the war between the nations of Uhra and Gohtza, but the area was nonetheless involved, for on this day, the highlands became a battlefield for the warring countries.

As the ground shook, one of the puddles began to ripple. The ground shook harder until the cause of the shaking drove through the puddle, splashing the water all over the place. The cause of the shaking happened to be an Uhra Armored Vehicle, a six-wheeled, black, gold and grey military transport cars carrying many Armored Magic Troopers, garbed in white and gold armor and helmets with holes on top. As the tank drove through the area, it was flanked by two more Armored Vehicles.

With awareness and assurances that company would soon arrive, the three armored cars drove through the gorge until they stopped at the staging point, and then the vehicles opened their doors and lowered their stair ramps. Then the soldiers ran out of their vehicles and into the ravine where the commanding officer of the Armored Magic Troopers awaited their arrival, as did the many huge, nearly cylindrical Uhran Walkers which possessed quadrupedal locomotion and had a large spinning blade as a weapon at the bottom. The general was confident that this would be sufficient enough a force to defeat the enemy.

"Attention, my fellow soldiers of Uhra!" the general shouted in his most commanding voice as he began his speech, "This is a momentous day for us, for our sons and daughters, and for our people. For years, our country has been at war with the Kingdom of Gohtza. Once an alliance of villages, this nation of warmongerers now threatens the freedom of the Republic of Uhra. The Gohtzan whelps have invaded and subjugated every other nation that they've come across. With their military might and their advanced magical technology, they've forced them to submit to their commands, to fight for them whenever they may call, to aid them in their mission to expand their empire. And not, their envious eyes have turned to Uhra. Our country, our land, our home.

"Gohtza is all too aware of Uhra's past attempts to conquer them for it has attained success in repelling them. However, the enemy has made the launching of an invasion a geographical impossibility. Gohtza is also aware of the fact that our republic is trapped in a period of national strife that not only overshadows global concerns, but also seeks to plunge our country into a miserable civil war that will most surely divide us and leave us vulnerable to an enemy attack. The Gohtzans believe that they are stronger. They believe that they are more powerful. They believe that they can simply, easily and completely conquer us, but I say to you that they are wrong!

"Hear me, my fellow warriors! On this day, we will repel the Gohtzan scum! On this day, the tide of war will turn in favor of our country! On this day of judgment, on this day of honor, on this day of victory, at last, here on the Highlands of Wohl...Gohtza's mighty armies...face...ANNIHILATION!"

"HA-ROO! HA-ROO! HA-ROO!" chanted the Uhran soldiers. If the intent of the general's speech was to brace the troopers for battle, it was a job well done. However, the general wasn't finished yet.

"For all of their military strength, for all of their technological progress, the Gohtzans have no immunity against our greatest weapon, our courage! It is that courage that shall be put to the ultimate test as we charge beyond that gulch. We, who stand between the Gohtzan army and our republic.

"I won't lie to you about our chances. There is a chance that most of you will not survive, but that is a chance worth taking. Success may prove indeed to be impossible, but it is a goal worth fighting for. I do not need to remind you that if we lose this battle, we lose everything that we have worked so far to acheive!

"The Gohtzans want to make sure that our sacrifice will earn our people nothing. If they defeat us, Gohtza will erase even the memory of Uhra from history. Every piece of Uhran parchment will be burnt and every Uhran historian and scribe will be tortured in every vile, disgusting, horrifying manner imaginable. Why, merely uttering the name of our country will be a crime punisable by death! The world will never know that we existed ever. And this, my loyal soldiers, is something that we simply cannot allow! Today, we will finish this war forever! Today, we will have VICTORY!"

"VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY!" the Uhran soldiers chanted. Only this time, they chanted even louder and fiercer. Then a soldier ran up to the general.

"General, sir!" said the soldier.

"Report, soldier." said the general.

"General, the armies of Gohtza are mobilizing against us! They're heading this way!"

"How many soldiers?"

"I can't comfirm the number but I can tell you that they've dispatched a massive army of Magic Khent Soldiers."

"Ah, yes, I see. The Gohtzans have sent their allies from Khent to dispatch us. A costly mistake."

"General, what can we do against such a gigantic force?"

"Respond in kind." No sooner had the general said that than a massive amount of Uhra Armored Vehicles arrived to take their place behind the three that already arrived. In unison, the vehicles opened their doors and lowered their stair ramps. Then out of the vehicles came thousands of Armored Magic Troopers that quickly ran to the ravine. The general then continued his speech where he left off when the soldier alerted him of the Gohtzan mobilization.

"Gentlemen, I'm honored that you've arrived. This will make our victory all the more sweeter because the full might of our country's military is present and accounted for!"

"HA-ROO! HA-ROO!" cheered the Uhrans.

"Soldiers, today marks a new beginning. A new age is dawning, an age of success! I assure you that our triumph is closer than ever before. Today, the Gohtzan worms will bow before us. Today, we will stain the Highlands of Wohl with the blood of Gohtza! Today, after years of war, we will unite! After years of foolish battle, we will stand together! After all these years of being locked in an endless loop of conflict, agitation, and chaos, we the people of the mighty Republic of Uhra will finally wipe out the scourge that is the Kingdom of Gohtza once and for all!"

The general's speech was so rousing that all of the Uhran soldiers got whipped into a frenzy so enthusiastic that they erupted into cheering that was louder and wilder than they've ever cheered before. However, one of the soldiers of the army didn't share that enthusiasm at all. This particular soldier that was garbed in armor that revealed part of his back stood firmly as a lieutenant of the Uhran army with his long black hair being mercilessly blown back by a wind thick with the fumes of war, his face shrouded by a vacant expression, and his blue eyes staring emptily at the Gohtzan opposition that awaited the Uhran charge.

The massive army of robot-like Magic Khent Soldiers looked very imposing even from a distance with their jagged black armor in which they were garbed, their glowing red eyes peeking through their tall black helmets which they were wearing, their big shields, and their equally big razor-sharp swords that looked like they could cut through armor. The lieutenant noted that from far away, their black spiky armor, tall helmets, huge shields, sharp swords and red eyes made them look like demonic humanoid porcupines. The weapons wielded by the warriors in black armor made the soldiers of Khent look ominous.

As if that wasn't enough, the soldiers were flanked by huge, lumbering, mechanical Heavy Khent Tank Units. Every one of these war machines was powered by a Magic Engine that glowed malevolently red like fire and gave them the appearance of a giant one-eyed demon. Furthermore, these massive tanks were armed with an equally massive serrated blade that was attached at the front. In addition, some of the tanks also came with a mighty cannon/flamethrower turret system on the left and right of each and every single tank, which explains why the tanks were also called Magma Tanks. Basically, these tanks practically resembled giant six-wheeled flamethrowers.

The lieutenant knew that although the Uhran army had the advantage of numbers, the Khent soldiers of Gohtza had the advantage of better soldiers, better armor, and better weapons. The lieutenant also knew that the Uhran army is going to a battle that can only end in blood.

"Men, remember this day as it will be yours for all time! This is where we hold them! This is where we fight!" shouted the general. Then he pointed at his sword and said, "This is where they fall! On these swords!"

Sadly, it was only the lieutenant and no one else that knew how badly this skirmish will end...the only way it _can_ end. Then, one of the soldiers sounded a battle horn that everyone on both sides could hear. This not only meant that it's time for the general to wrap his speech up, but it also meant that it's time for battle. As one, all the soldiers put on their helmets and unsheathed their swords. All they needed now was for the general to give the word.

"Soldiers, this is it! Accept no surrender! Take no prisoners! SHOW...NO...MERCY!"

The general put on his helmet and unsheathed his sword. "Mighty warriors of Uhra, protect the honor of our great country!" Then, clutching his sword with two hands, he thrusted it high into the air and shouted, "TO VICTORY!"

The roused Uhra soldiers gave a loud booming roar and immediately ran. With swords in hand and a spring in their step, the Armored Magic Troopers charged out of the gorge and into the highlands, passing by the Uhran Walkers that slowly but steadily followed alongside the fighters. As the black-haired lieutenant quickly followed along, he immediately glanced at the dead bodies of many other Uhra soldiers and deduced that they belonged to a previous platoon that came here first. Only the lieutenant noticed the unmoving bodies but the other soldiers paid no heed and rushed past them, stepping over their lifeless forms as they did. The lieutenant also noticed that the closer the soldiers got to the battlefield, the more unliving warriors they passed by.

As the Uhrans continued charging, one of them noticed that the Magic Khent Soldiers were just standing still, as if they were expecting them to charge. But there were many soldiers that yielded to overconfidence. Throwing caution to the wind, a headstrong lieutenant colonel and his battalion of 700 Uhran soldiers ran closer and closer to the enemy soldiers.

"NO PRISONERS!" shouted the lieutenant colonel.

Just then, a sword fell blade first from the sky after being flung into the air and killed one of the soldiers as it crashed down to earth. Seeing this, the warrior behind him ran faster to avenge the fallen hero. Then, two more swords fell after being thrown and disposed of two other soldiers, with their blades aimed right at them. The other 697 soldiers did not notice and kept running towards the enemy horde, the thought of victory being the only thing on their minds. Then the soldiers noticed hundreds of swords being thrown into the sky by the Magic Khent Soldiers, hanging in the air for a short moment, and quickly plummeting blade first upon the soldiers like rain. By the time they noticed, however, it was too late. A storm of blades fell upon them and killed many of the soldiers of the battalion.

Only the lieutenant colonel remained after that assault. Being the closest to the Magic Khent Soldiers, he ran as fast as he could to the enemy army, ready to avenge his battalion and punish its killers. Then suddenly, the lieutenant colonel himself was killed by one of the falling swords, his vengeful ambitions as dead as he was. One of the enemy soldiers marched up to the lieutenant colonel who was the closest to the Khent army and grabbed the sword that embedded itself in him when it fell on him. Then, after twisting the blade while it was impaling the enemy, the soldier in black armor pulled the sword out of his chest.

Having struck first blood, the beastmen in black armor marched toward the Uhran soldiers that survived the assault of raining swords to finish them off. One Uhran soldier who was barely breathing after having a Khent sword planted in his chest stopped breathing when a Khent soldier thrusted said sword in his chest. Another Uhran that had a sword in his leg was killed by the black armored knight.

Having witnessed this gruesome scene, the thousands upon thousands of Uhran warriors charged into the battlefield, prepared more than ever to give everything for the pride of their country. The black-haired lieutenant was the only one that could see how ridiculous this war is. However, all of the other soldiers did not see that as they were obsessed with only total, complete, absolute victory. The lieutenant saw this as foolish, for they were running to their doom. He should know because he saw it happen several times before.

And so, as he charged into the umpteenth battle in his life, the black-haired lieutenant solemnly said with an exasperated sigh, "Here we go again."


	3. Battle of the Wohl Highlands

**Chapter 3: Battle of the Wohl Highlands**

As the Armored Magic Troopers of Uhra ran towards the Magic Khent Soldiers of Gohtza on the Wohl Highlands, the men in black armor raised their swords in preparation for battle with the soldiers in gold armor. Clutching their swords with two hands, then single handedly, they charged into the battlefield. The Uhrans were prepared to fight for their country, but the Gohtzans were prepared to win for theirs.

One Uhran trooper rushed towards a Magic Khent Soldier and raised his sword. The Uhran attacked with his sword but the Khent soldier blocked the attack with his shield. Then the beastman in black armor bashed the Uhran with the shield and slashed him in the sholder. Then, holding his sword aloft, another Uhran charged forward and prepared to strike at the soldiers, but a Khent soldier impaled him and threw him out of sight with his sword. The armored beastmen used that same sword to kill seven attacking Uhrans with one swing. And with that, the battle was joined.

All around the highlands, the troopers in gold armor were locked in combat with the soldiers in black armor. The Uhrans were brave, fast, and strong, but the Khent beastmen were braver, faster, and stronger. Although Uhra was skilled in the ways of war, the Gohtzan country of Khent treated war like a way of life. As a result, the Khent soldiers were better disciplined, better armed, and better trained.

One Magic Khent Soldier got into a swordfight with an Uhra Armored Magic Trooper only to cut off his opponent's arm and then he knocked out the armless loser with his shield. At the same time, an Uhran trooper attacked another Khent soldier by stabbing him in the chest. Grabbing the black-armored soldier's sword, the Uhran prepared to strike down the wounded one only to be literally stabbed in the back by a fellow Khent warrior that wielded an Uhran sword that he picked up from a dead Uhran trooper.

A black-armored Khent soldier punched a charging Uhran trooper with his shield and stabbed him in the chest. Then he turned to four attacking Uhrans and with a swing of his massive sword, he swiftly killed all four of them.

As another Khent soldier marched through the battle-strewn highlands, he bashed the Uhran to his right with his shield, then he performed a sword-sweep to the legs of the Uhran on his left that brought him down, and then he delivered a powerful kick to the Uhran in front of him that sent him a few inches away.

Another Khent soldier blocked an Uhran trooper's attack and slashed at his legs. The black-garbed soldier raised his sword and prepared to finish off the legless trooper, but he was killed by three Uhran troopers that snuck up behind him. This was one of many, rare strokes of luck that the Uhra troopers had achieved.

A Magic Khent Soldier engaged an Uhra Armored Magic Trooper in a swordfight only for another trooper to tackle the Khent soldier and kill him. Another Khent soldier killed an attacking Uhran trooper only to be defeated and killed by another Uhran that sliced off his legs. Another Khent soldier blocked an Uhran trooper's sword strike with his shield only for another Uhran trooper to slice off the Khent soldier's shield arm, thus allowing the two to stab the Khent soldier to death. Then, with their swords, the Uhrans spun around and killed six charging Khent soldiers.

The Uhrans were getting lucky, however it did not look like luck was on their side. A Magic Khent Soldier put away his shield, causing many Uhran troopers to believe that he has made himself defenseless. But when the troopers charged to attack him, the beastman in black rapidly grabbed the Uhran trooper's sword and knocked the now weaponless Uhran into unconsciousness with his swords's flat side. A split second later, he killed an Uhran that ran at him from the left with his own sword.

Then, with an Uhra trooper's sword in one hand and the sword of a Khent soldier in the other, he quickly became a whirling dervish of destruction. With the agility of an acrobat, the speed of the fastest land animal, and the fury of a berserker, the black-armored warrior moved through the battlefield and mercilessly slaughtered 124 Uhran soldiers with an amazing array of acrobatic attacks before he finally threw the Uhran sword at the 125th one like a javelin and impaled him in the chest. The impaled trooper then fell backwards with only the sword in his chest keeping him off the ground.

It became apparent at this point that this battle was evolving into an insane massacre. Soldiers were being killed left and right and the wounded were being left to die in the muck. Those that were still alive either walked over and on the corpses of their dead comrades or stomped their carcasses into the ground. Those that didn't die at the hands of the Magic Khent Soldiers anyway were stabbed to death when they tried to crawl away.

Then the Uhran walkers came. While the Magic Khent Soldiers picked off the crawling Armored Magic Troopers of Uhra, one of the Uhran tanks marched towards them on its four legs. The men in black armor didn't see the tanks, but the men in gold armor did. The Uhrans ducked as the tank spun its blade and knocked scores of Khent soldiers off their feet and into the air. After a few seconds, the black-armored beastmen crashed into the mucky ground.

The gold-armored soldiers cheered and went after the fallen black-armored soldiers. The Khent soldiers tried to get up and flee, but the Uhran troopers killed the armored beastmen before they got up. All over the highlands, the Uhran walkers attacked hundreds of Magic Khent Soldiers and turned the tide of the battle.

"Come on," shouted an Armored Magic Trooper to his men, "we've got them on the run!"

"Yeah," shouted another Uhran soldier, "I have a good feeling about this! We can handle this without the lieutenant!"

With that, the Uhran soldiers charged farther into the battlefield. Guided only by their stubbornness, the Uhran Armored Magic Troopers quickly charged at the enemy army. Then the Uhrans froze in their tracks at the sight of the black-armored Khent soldiers marching forward with their Heavy Khent Tanks.

The Uhran walkers lumbered forward with their legs to meet this new threat, but the Khent tanks were faster as they used wheels instead of legs to move. Powered by their Magic Engines which glowed deviously red, three of the Heavy Khent Tanks that were the closest to the Uhran walkers, moved closer while they raised their giant serrated blades that were attached at the front. Finally, when the walkers were within range, they dropped their blades on the Uhran walking tanks.

With a deafening crash, the blades of the Khent tanks tore the walkers open, causing them to topple backwards when the Khent tanks raised their blades. Realizing that they are in the shadow of the doomed vehicles, several of the troopers fled out of range. However, the walkers collapsed onto the ground with their legs flailing about in midair, crushing some of the Uhrans in the process. The walker's blade slid down with a creak to the mucky earth, slicing four Uhran troopers in half.

The Khent soldiers marched forward to one of the downed Uhran war machines in hopes of eliminating any survivors. However, the many surviving Uhrans were hiding behind the ruined walker waiting for their chance to strike. That chance came when the soldiers in black armor were right near them.

"NOW!" shouted an Uhran soldier. At the soldier's signal, several Armored Magic Troopers leaped out of their hiding place behind the walker and pounced on the armored beastmen. One Khent soldier noticed the trouble that they found themselves in and tried to flee, but an Uhran soldier stabbed the beastman in the face with his sword. Finally gaining the element of surprise, the Uhrans attacked and killed the attacking beastment of Khent. While some Uhrans grabbed and chopped off the arms of some of the black-armored soldiers, others hacked off their legs and stabbed the enemy soldiers in the chest. The Armored Magic Troopers grabbed the shields of the deceased Khent soldiers and charged forward to the Khent tanks.

"To the tanks!" shouted an ambitious Uhran army captain who led his men through the battle. Cutting through the enemy soldiers that stood against him, the soldier led his company of 200 soldiers to the soldiers surrounding the tanks. With their swords, all of the members of the company savagely attacked the warriors in front of one of the Khent war machines.

While the gold-armored soldiers clashed swords with the black-armored beastmen, the tank raised its blade as it moved within range of the battling soldiers. When the Khent tank was close enough, it dropped its weapon onto the battlefield and crushed several soldiers that didn't get out of the way in time. However, since all of the Uhrans dodged the blade, these soldiers were from the country of Khent.

The Uhrans then attacked the tank's blade in hopes of cutting it off. As the blade was raised, the captain and twelve of the two hundred soldiers climbed on it and continued fighting. The soldiers then jumped off the blade and landed on the left and right cannons, then they launched their attack.

The men on the ground continued their skirmish. However, the soldiers in gold were unaware that the tank's cannons glowed in the color of fire as they charged up energy for a powerful strike. But the captain noticed what was going on.

"Soldiers! Fall back! Fall back at once!" shouted the captain to his men on the ground. Per the captain's command, the soldiers stopped their attack and retreated to their fallback positions. But some weren't fast enough.

The Heavy Khent Tank attacked by firing a superheated blast of lava at the Uhran soldiers on the ground and blasting them to bits. Forty-three Uhran troopers were killed by the tank's magma blast along with one Khent soldier who didn't get out of the way in time. The rest of the 145 remaining soldiers protected themselves from the tank's attack with their shields. In moments, the Khent soldiers were upon them again and the Uhrans went back to skirmishing.

"I don't believe it," raged the captain as he and his soldiers attacked one of the turrets, "I'm hitting the cannon as hard as I can, but why can't I damage it?"

Then the cannons charged up energy for another strike. One of the Uhran troopers who had just stabbed a Khent soldier in the chest noticed this and said, "Oh no, not again!"

The Heavy Khent Tank sprayed a deadly stream of flammable, corrosive liquid at the Uhran troopers, setting thirty of the Uhran soldiers ablaze and completely incinerating seven more of them. Covered in flames, the Uhrans ran around in a frenzy, burning every nearby Khent soldier that they touched in an effort to make sure that their demise was not in vain. The thirty burning soldiers killed off 115 Khent soldiers and six of their fellow Uhrans before they succumbed to their fatal injuries.

All 102 of the remaining Uhrans had held their stolen Khent shields up to defend themselves against the tank's fiery assault. When the attack ended, the men found that their shields became piping hot to the touch despite their grips allowing for the men to hold them. When one of the many hundreds of Khent soldiers charged towards one of them, the Uhran swung his hot shield and smashed him in the face before he stabbed another charging Khent soldier in the chest. The Uhran's attack melted part of the beastman's armor off and scalded his face in the process. At that point, the other 101 soldiers discovered that they could use their heated shields as improvised weapons. With that knowledge, the Uhran troopers attacked with gusto, slashing with their sharp swords and smashing with their red-hot shields.

While the black-armored soldiers fought the gold-armored soldiers, an Uhran walker moved behind the many hundreds of Magic Khent Soldiers and flung them into the sky with its spinning blade while another one stomped towards the Heavy Khent tank that was distracted by the battle.

When the captain saw the giant walking tank, he jumped off the left cannon. Then he told his soldiers that were still attacking the turrets to, "Get off the turrets, now! This thing is going to be attacked!"

At his command, six of his men jumped off the left turret and the other six leaped off the right. Then, with a swing of its massive spinning blade, the walker smashed through the Heavy Khent Tank's left turret and caused it to short-circuit for a short while, sending fiery and electrical sparks flying all over the place. After four seconds of that, the tank's left cannon exploded, forcefully detaching off the machine, and finally falling onto the ground in a ruined pile. This action then caused the tank's right turret to stop working as a result.

The Uhrans cheered as they watched one of their machines damage the Magma Tank. When several Magic Khent Soldiers ran towards the gold-armored troopers, the Uhrans attacked with their weapons, fully confident that victory would be theirs. However, no one except the captain noticed that another Heavy Khent Tank moved behind the Uhran walker that disabled the Magma Tank in front of it.

"Watch out, men!" bellowed the captain to his soldiers and the walker as he saw the Khent war vehicle raise its blade. But the Uhran machine didn't notice in time. The tank dropped its blade onto the Uhran walker and tore it open, causing it to topple forward and fall onto the ground and crush the disabled Magma Tank and the 75 Magic Khent Soldiers surrounding it. Taking advantage of the incident, the 115 Armored Magic Troopers ran to the downed walker, slaying many Magic Khent Soldiers that stood in their way. The Heavy Khent Tank's cannon fired a magma blast at the Uhrans, but it hit 82 Khent soldiers that decided to chase after them. The blast threw all these soldiers all over the battlefield.

The Uhran troopers hid in the opening of the downed walker created by the Khent tank's blade and watched the carnage that fell upon the unfortunate Khent soldiers. Distracted by its mistake, the Khent tank then got surrounded by five Uhran walkers. In unison, the five Uhran tanks swung their giant blades and smashed the Khent war tank, slicing it into pieces.

The gold-armored Uhrans then saw more black-armored Khent soldiers marching towards the downed walker. When they got really close to the disabled war machine, the Uhrans jumped out of the walker and massacred the warriors. The Armored Magic Troopers fought with great fierceness as they traded blows with the Magic Khent Soldiers. However, none of the Uhrans noticed that another Heavy Khent Tank moved behind the downed Uhran walker and aimed its cannons at the warriors. The captain then turned around to kill four Khent soldiers in one swing. After he did so, he saw the Magma Tank as it charged up its cannons.

"Look out!" shouted the captain to his men when he saw the Khent war machine. But it was too late for them to react. The cannons fired a powerful magma blast that utterly blasted the soldiers and the damaged tank and downed walker to pieces. Sixty of the 115 Uhran soldiers died instantly from the blast. Forty-four of the Uhrans had their limbs blown off. Half of the Uhrans had lost one or both of their arms and the other half had lost one or both of their legs. The last eleven were sent flying five feet away by the blast before they landed on the ground. After that, they slid seven more feet after they landed.

Although the wounded gold-armored soldiers tried to crawl away, the Heavy Khent Tank aimed and charged up its cannons for another attack. By the time that 500 Uhrans came to their rescue, the Magma Tank shot fire from its cannons and incinerated the 44 crippled Uhran soldiers, as well as the 500 Uhran troopers. The five Uhran walkers that destroyed the Magma Tank that accidentally killed the 82 Khent soldiers moved as fast as they can to the Magma Tank that was burning the Uhran troopers to a crisp.

Then suddenly, the Uhran walkers were hit at a barrage of magma blasts that originated from the cannons of four Magma Tanks that approached from their right. The blast caused the walkers to stagger to the left, then to the right before the Khent tanks hit them again with their cannon blasts. The Uhran walkers tried to avoid the tanks but the Magma Tanks hit them a third time with another powerful magma blast that blew the Uhran war machines to bits. The five ruined Uhran tanks staggered backwards before they collapsed to the ground and crushed 550 advancing Uhran troopers in the process.

One of the remaining eleven soldiers tried to get up only for a Khent soldier to stab him in the back. The other ten soldiers quickly got up only for several Khent soldiers to quickly surround them and attack the Uhrans. One of the soldiers tried to fight, but two Khent soldiers stabbed him in the stomach. Another one of the Uhrans was engaged in battle with two Khent soldiers. The soldier from Uhra fought very hard, but three Khent soldiers stabbed him in the chest, cut off his arm, and impaled him in the stomach. At this point, the captain began to panic.

"My God! Oh my God! We can't win this battle! Soldiers! Whoever's left, retreat! Retreat!" shouted the captain. Four of the remaining Uhrans fled the battle while the Khent soldiers disposed of the other four. They ran away from the skirmish as fast as they could, but then, they found themselves in the presence of a Magma Tank that blocked their escape. Before they could run away, the tank dropped its blade on the four soldiers from Uhra and crushed them like bugs.

Only the captain remained. He slew the Khent soldiers not to defend his country's honor, but to escape with his life. He killed many of the black-armored soldiers in an attempt to flee, but a Magic Khent Soldier impaled his arm, making him drop his sword. Another Khent fighter impaled his leg. Being out of options, the captain decided to run away. However, many Khent soldiers caught and restrained him before he could take more that four fast steps.

"Please, spare me! In the name of Uhra, for the sake of its people, please let me go!" said the captain to the black-armored swordsman that walked up to him.

In response, the Khent soldier said, "No."

The armored beastman then raised his sword. The Uhran captain screamed while he struggled against his captors. But the soldiers did not care for his screams of mercy. The Magic Khent Soldier then impaled the Uhran captain in his chest, silencing him forever. Then the soldier's executioner picked up the Uhran captain's sword and rejoined the battle, leaving the four Khent soldiers that restrained the soldier to finish him off.

At this point, what started out as a deadly battle had quickly changed into an insane, nightmarish conflict that heavily favored the soldiers of Khent. As the black-armored beastmen moved across the battlefield, they trampled on the dead bodies of the slain Uhrans while they picked off the ones that were barely alive. With an increasing number of Uhrans dying, it became evident that this was a battle that the Uhrans could not possibly win.

Then suddenly, a magical blue light came from out of nowhere and hit a dead soldier, causing the lifeless shell to glow. The Khent soldier turned around just in time to see the dead Uhran soldier open his eyes, move his limbs and rise to his feet as if he never died in battle.

"What the? How?" shouted the Khent soldier. That was all he had time to say before the Uhran soldier punched him in the face. The warrior from Khent realized that the helmet wasn't of any help. The Uhran punched him again, further disorienting him. The Uhran then delivered a massive barrage of punches to the Khent's face before finally knocking him to the ground with a kick to his chest.

Four Khent soldiers rushed to the aid of the fallen soldier just in time to see the Uhran that punched him out pick up a discarded sword off the ground and run towards them. The same Uhran that they had killed earilier. By the time they could raise their swords, the Uhran soldier quickly beheaded the four Khent soldiers.

Then another blue light hit another deceased Uhran soldier and made him open his eyes, move his limbs and rise to his feet. The Khent soldier that slew him was impaled in the head by the vengeful and formerly dead soldier who had his sword with him the whole time. Then with a stab in the stomach, he quickly slew another Khent soldier that ran towards his fellow warrior.

Then yet another blue light hit yet another dead Uhran and caused him to open his eyes, move his limbs, and rise to his feet with all his injuries healed. With his sword in hand, the now revived Uhran soldier then stabbed the Khent knight in the chest. Then he ran to two more Khent soldiers and beheaded them with a quick slash of his sword.

Soon, that same healing light revived two more dead Uhran soldiers. Then four more. Then eight. Then sixteen. Then sixty-four! Then 128 soldiers were revived by that magical healing light.

The Magic Khent Soldiers soon began to panic as they saw all the Uhran soldiers that they've killed being resurrected by that healing light. Then they let out a fearful gasp when they saw where the light came from: several Uhran battle resurrection pylons that were moving around the battlefield. These tall, magical mobile towers were accompanied by a huge number of Uhran soldiers.

Each one of these numerous mobile towers was propelled by four wheels, guarded by a squad of thirteen Uhran Armored Magic Troopers, and powered by a squad of eight Uhran white mages that stood high atop a platform overlooking the carnage. As the mages chanted a healing incantation, they poured blue, glowing healing energy into a container that took the energy to an antenna that then transmitted the healing, life-giving energy to the deceased Uhrans. As a result, the healing magic brought the newly dead back to life and turned the struggle's tide against the Khent soldiers. As the mage-powered pylons did their work, they revived fireteams and squads, then platoons and companies, then battalions, brigades, and divisions.

And so, the horrific battle raged on. All over the Wohl Highlands, the Armored Magic Troopers of Uhra and the Magic Khent Soldiers of Gohtza continued their chaotic clash. Thousands of soldiers pitted their magic and steel against each other as they fought for supremacy. For every Uhran trooper that the Khents killed, three more took its place. To make matters worse, every time the Khent soldiers killed the Uhrans, the Uhrans used their mastery of magic to restore their dead soldiers to life. Despite all this, it appeared that the battle was about to reach a bloody stalemate.

The soldiers of Uhra and Gohtza were placed in a situation where they can neither win against nor lose to each other. But, the soldiers of their respective countries refused to give in to defeat. The Uhrans were especially unconcerned about the fact that every time that they were magically reanimated by their resurrection pylons, they ran back into the jaws of death. Indeed, it was a senseless battle that looked like it had no end in sight. However, none of the clashing soldiers cared how long their skirmish would last because their minds were dominated by fantasies of victory.

An Uhran fireteam was dispatched by a squad of Khent soldiers, only for an Uhran platoon to kill them off. The platoon was murdered by a company of Khent soldiers, but the company was savagely killed by a battalion of Uhrans. Four seconds later, that battalion was joined by the slain Uhrans that were revived by their resurrection pylons. With a yell, the Uhrans charged into battle once again. One of the charging soldiers then tripped over a Khent soldier's dead body.

"What the?" said the Uhran as he stumbled to his feet. Suddenly, a Khent soldier bashed the Uhran's face in with his shield, knocking him to the mucky ground in the process. The black-armored beastman raised his sword to deal the killing strike but he got hit from behind by a Khent soldier's lifeless corpse. This distraction allowed the Uhran enough time to get on his feet and behead the disoriented Khent soldier.

The Uhran soldiers ran as fast as they could towards the enemy warriors, but the Khent soldiers threw their swords at them like spears. Several Uhrans dodged but 50 of the gold-armored soldiers got impaled by the swords and perished instantly. The Khent soldiers then picked up several discarded swords and quickly sallied forth. But as the black-armored fighters ran towards the Uhrans, they tripped over several corpses of Khent soldiers. By the time they could get up and investigate the cadavers, the Uhrans were upon them.

The Khent soldiers defended valiantly, but the Uhran soldiers slaughtered them. The gold-armored troopers dispatched Khent soldiers left and right. The Uhran soldiers cut a swath of violence through the battlefield as they slew every Khent soldier in their path.

One of the Uhrans got overconfident and broke away from his unit. He fought and killed a huge number of Khent soldiers on his own only to be impaled in the legs by one of the enemy soldier's swords. Soon, the Uhran found himself surrounded by Khent soldiers. Just as they raised their swords to finish him off, they were impaled in the back by Khent swords that were hurled at the soldiers that surrounded the Uhran. When the armored beastmen fell, the Uhran saw that the formerly alive Khent soldiers were surrounded by hundreds of dead bodies of Khent soldiers.

"But how is this possible?" said the Uhran.

"Soldier!" called a voice. The soldier turned to its source which turned out to be the colonel of his unit and another one of his soldiers who ran to the site of the lone Uhran's battle.

"Colonel, sir!" said the soldier.

"Soldier, I'm aware that you have the honor of your family and country to uphold, but that doesn't mean you have to get all the glory for yourself. Leave us some soldiers to kill!"

"But, my Colonel, it wasn't me who killed this massive number of Khent soldiers."

"Then, who is responsible for this?"

"Colonel, look!" shouted the other soldier who pointed ahead at an event occuring near the three. The colonel and the soldier that he was talking to looked where the other soldier was pointing. What the three men saw was a lightly-armored man with long black hair who was currently engaged in a swordfight with ten Magic Khent Soldiers...and winning.

"What's happening over there?" said one of the two soldiers.

"What's going on?" the other one asked. Then the Uhran soldiers took a closer look at the black-haired soldier.

"My God! Is that who I think it is?" asked the first soldier.

"I think so," said the colonel, "It's Lieutenant Argonar."

"Argonar? Kaim Argonar is the lieutenant? It can't be!" said the second soldier.

"But it most certainly is, I can tell you." said the first soldier.

"I don't believe it! Our army has the talents of Argonar!" said the second soldier.

"Incredible," said the first soldier as he watched Kaim fight, "This man is a legend."

"How so?" inquired the second soldier.

"I heard that he killed one million soldiers in one hour." responded the first soldier.

"Amazing! Is that all?"

"There's more. I heard that he quelled a rebellion in Sanctuary. Ten thousand enemy soldiers against Kaim and they all fell by his hand."

"Intriguing. How could he possibly top that?" asked the second soldier.

"With his actions at the fall of the village of Prosperity."

"Spectacular! This man is a remarkable warrior! Whoever paid him to fight for us this day is really getting his money's worth," said the second soldier.

While the two soldiers were talking amongst each other, Kaim dispatched the ten Khent soldiers only to see more Khent soldiers marching towards him.

"Colonel, The enemy is beginning to outnumber Lieutenant Argonar. Should we help him, sir?" said the first soldier.

"No, let Kaim do his job. He has the situation under control. We have our own part in this battle to fulfill. Come on, men! We've got a battle to win!" said the colonel as he ran back to the continuing skirmish. With that, the two soldiers followed the colonel and charged back into the fray. By then, Lt. Argonar killed the fifteen Khent soldiers that marched towards him, only to be completely surrounded by Magic Khent Soldiers. Cutting off his escape, all of the Khent soldiers drew their swords and trained them on the lieutenant.

However, unfazed by the seemingly insurmountable odds, Kaim only said, "Who's first?"


	4. Attack of the One Man Army

**Chapter 4: Attack of the One Man Army**

Lieutenant Kaim Argonar looked down on the twenty-five black-armored soldiers of Khent that he had slain. Then he looked at the many Magic Khent Soldiers that immediately surrounded him. Kaim was completely trapped, as far as the enemy soldiers knew. Kaim knew that this would happen when he went to this battle. Of course, he wasn't surprised at all that he would be surrounded by soldiers. After all, he has been in this situation before.

For as long as he can remember, Kaim has traveled around the world and seen many of its sights, met many of its people, and fought many of its battles. Skilled with a sword, he journeyed from battlefield to battlefield, fighting in conflict after conflict, and serving army after army for reasons that are unclear even to him. He saw beauty in all the world's trifles and fascinations, but he had no time to enjoy it.

In every battle that he took part in, he saw soldiers fight and die for their people. On the outside, he felt no pity for those warriors and he did not care about the casualties of war. But on the inside, Kaim felt sadness, remorse, and despair for those brave men and women that would never come back. Pity, however, had no place in battle. The poor souls that forgot that paid with their lives.

From the mountains to the forests, Kaim traveled everywhere. But no matter where he went, he always got involved in the many fights that awaited him. But Kaim got used to it because it meant that he had a job to do. As a traveling mercenary, he sold his skills to the highest bidder. As far as he was concerned, Kaim did not care where and who he fought as long as he got paid.

The Highlands of Wohl were no different from all the other places that he went to. To Lieutenant Argonar, this place was just another place for soldiers to fight and perish. But at this point, Kaim did not care about who lives or not. All he cared about at this current moment was getting rich.

Kaim waited for the Khent soldiers to make their move as the black-armored fighters that surrounded Kaim waited for him to make his. Then after a few minutes of waiting, one of the Khent soldiers ran at Kaim and raised his sword as he did so. But before the Khent warrior could swing his weapon down on him, Kaim quickly raised his sword and slashed the attacking soldier in his neck, then he slashed him in the stomach, then finally, he stabbed the black-armored Khent knight in the head.

As they watched one of their own fall dead to his injuries, the Khent soldiers got upset. Seventeen of the soldiers that surrounded Kaim charged at him as he pulled his sword out of the dead soldier's head. With a stoic expression on his face, he began his assault.

Kaim rapidly charged at the first Khent soldier in front of him, then he dispatched him with a running slash attack. Then he slashed the second one in front of Argonar in the chest. Then he knocked the third Khent soldier into the air with as upward slash, leaving Kaim enough time to behead the fourth and fifth soldier before the third fell to the ground. Then Kaim blocked an attack from his left that came from the sixth soldier and brought his sword down on the black-armored soldier's helmet. The seventh soldier ran at Kaim, who then grabbed him, pummeled him with the hilt of his sword twice, and kicked him to the ground. Finally, he planted his sword in the Khent soldier's head.

Pulling his sword out of the dead man's head, Kaim slashed the neck of the eighth Khent soldier that advanced towards him, then he stabbed the ninth in the stomach. After kicking the now-dead soldier away and pulling his sword out as he did so, Kaim swiftly beheaded the tenth and eleventh soldier with one swing. Kaim then blocked the twelfth soldier's axe slash and countered with a deadly spinning slash. The thirteenth soldier charged towards Kaim but he swiped his sword across the ground and tripped the Khent soldier, stabbing him in the back after the soldier fell on his face. The fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth soldiers ran at Kaim but Kaim slashed the 14th Khent warrior into the air, then he blocked a double slash attack from the 16th soldier while he beheaded the 15th soldier. While the 14th soldier crashed down to the ground, Kaim dispatched the 16th soldier with a double slash and a stab to the chest.

While Kaim was distracted by the sixteen soldiers, he was grabbed from behind by the seventeenth soldier who happened to be the platoon leader. The soldier spun Kaim around to face him and hit him with the hilt of his sword twice before he tossed him down to the ground and stomped on his face. Believing him to be unconscious, the platoon leader raised his weapon and prepared to finish off his target, but Kaim stabbed him in his left leg with his sword, causing the Khent soldier to drop his sword onto the ground next to him. Kaim then picked up the platoon leader's sword and stabbed its owner in the other leg with it. Kaim then sprung to his feet, pulled his own sword out of the incapacitated soldier's left leg, and slashed left in the soldier's gut, then he slashed right in his neck, and finally, he stabbed him in the gut. The platoon leader fell to the mucky ground and died two seconds after Kaim pulled his sword out of his gut.

"Hmph," said Kaim with intense apathy, "another batch of soldiers dead. They should be so lucky to be mortal."

Eleven of the hundreds of Khent soldiers that surrounded Kaim soon got very angry and charged at him. Kaim positioned himself into a fighting stance with his sword and prepared for battle once more.

One of the Magic Khent Soldiers picked up speed as he ran towards Kaim, but the lone warrior just stood and watched as the Khent soldier charged towards the lieutenant. The black-armored soldier ran incredibly fast as he raised his sword and prepared to attack Kaim as he neared the lieutenant, but before he got the chance, Argonar swung his sword horizontally at the poor fool and slashed the soldier's chest, then he followed it up with a powerful roundhouse kick that knocked the man two feet away from him before the soldier landed on the ground.

Another Khent soldier ran towards Kaim with his sword drawn and swung his sword wildly at him as he attacked him, but Kaim dodged all four of his attacks without moving from his spot before he attacked with a double slash and a stab to the chest that killed the black-armored knight. Nine more Khent soldiers rushed forth to avenge their fallen comrade, but Kaim hit one of them with an uppercut slash that simultaneously sliced his jaw open and knocked him into the air. By the time the Khent soldier fell to the ground, he was already dead. This left the lieutenant free to turn his attention to the other eight soldiers.

The first Khent soldier swung his sword but Kaim blocked his strike with his own sword and countered with a slash attack that knocked him back. The second soldier of Khent attacked, but Kaim dodged his strike and quickly beheaded him. The third soldier attempted a downward slash on Lieutenant Argonar, who blocked the attack with an upward slash that knocked the sword from his hands before he followed up with a downward slash that knocked the dark-armored fighter to the ground. The fourth and fifth soldiers ran towards Kaim and struck, but Kaim parried their attacks, rapidly struck back with four powerful slashes, and killed the challengers. The sixth soldier gripped his sword tightly as he leapt towards Kaim in an attempt to slice him in two, but Kaim rolled out of the way and avoided a beheading with a dodge that brought him behind the soldier, where Argonar broke the attacker's neck, spun him around, and pushed him into the path of the seventh soldier. The resulting impact disoriented the soldier long enough for Kaim to slash him in the gut twice.

Only the eighth soldier remained in his sights. Looking upon his now deceased fellow soldiers, the man in black armor angrily frowned at Argonar. Clutching his blade tightly in his hands, the Khent soldier charged at the lieutenant. With a loud battlecry, the Khent soldier struck the first blow, but Kaim blocked it with familiarity and struck a blow against the soldier, but the armored beastman blocked the strike. The soldier struck again, but Kaim blocked the blow once more.

Kaim and the soldier fought tirelessly, neither one wishing to lose to the other. When the soldier attacked, Kaim parried again and again in defense. In response, Kaim unleashed his own barrage of sword strikes, with each blow driving the Khent soldier back, slowly moving him across the field. Finally, Kaim unleashed a powerful strike that knocked the Khent soldier's sword out of his hands, leaving him defenseless and open to an attack. Before the armored fighter had time to flee, Kaim battered his opponent with eighteen slashes before he finished him off with a powerful downward slash that sent him crashing to the ground. Two seconds after brutally dispatching his opponent, Kaim impaled a Khent soldier who snuck up behind him without turning or looking. With his own sword planted in the soldier's chest, Kaim quickly turned around, grabbed the Khent soldier's sword, pulled his own sword out of the victim's chest, and beheaded the enemy with the enemy's own blade.

All the remaining hundreds of Khent soldiers got absolutely furious at Kaim for his cruel dispatching of their fellow soldiers. With a loud battle cry of abject rage, the soldiers charged at Kaim. In response, Kaim, armed with a sword in each hand, charged at the soldiers. Wielding his weapons, Kaim cut a huge swath of destruction through the opposing army of Magic Khent Soldiers.

With inconceiveable speed, strength, and agility, Kaim attacked the opposition with his blindingly fast dual sword strikes. Argonar showed extraordinary skill with his weapon of choice as he slashed through his foes, blocked and countered their assaults, and dodged their swings. Despite their expertise in the ways of the sword, none of the Khent soldiers were a match for the lone lieutenant. After three minutes of dealing death, all 501 of the soldiers that had surrounded him before were now dead at Kaim's hands. Then suddenly, Kaim threw one of his two swords at the head of one of the three soldiers that ran towards him, leaving him free to lop off the heads of the other two. But still, more Magic Khent Soldiers kept on coming at him.

"These people never learn," a somber Kaim mused as he ran back into the fray.

Kaim dashed forward, swung his sword from left to right, and dispatched the four Khent soldiers that ran towards him. Quickly turning around, he struck down two more charging soldiers. Then he saw several more Khent soldiers heading for him, leading Kaim to prepare for yet another assault.

Kaim dashed forward and swung his sword, landing a powerful blow that killed seven of the soldiers that ran towards him. Then he delivered another swing that dispatched four more soldiers. Then Kaim killed three more Khent soldiers with another swing of his blade before he spun around and killed two more Khent warriors, the blow's impact causing them to spin around once before they fell to the mucky ground. But he wasn't done yet.

Seeing more foolish enemy soldiers running towards him, Kaim ran to them as he swung his sword. With inhuman grace, he dashed past thirteen Khent soldiers, striking them down as he did so. Then, he leaped onto a Khent soldier and fatally stabbed him in the head, only to turn and bounce off of him and strike down a Khent soldier that ran behind him before the one that he impaled in the head fell to the ground. After that, he quickly turned around and slashed two more enemy knights, causing one of them to spin around before they fell.

Foolishly believing that Kaim had left himself open, a Khent soldier ran to Kaim from behind and raised his sword in preparation for a fatal blow, but Kaim fatally stabbed him in the head without looking over his soldier, giving him room to bend over backwards as the blades of two enemy soldiers whipped horizontally over his body. After that, in one swift motion, Kaim pulled his sword out of the now dead fighter's head and struck down a Khent soldier that ran towards him. Then he turned and slashed his sword along the ground to defeat another soldier.

A Khent soldier that ran at Argonar blocked another of his sword slashes with his shield only to have Kaim shove it out of his way with the handle of his sword. Then he noticed a Khent soldier behind him, and using his sword for momentum, Kaim jumped and back kicked the soldier in the head before he killed the other soldier with a strike to the head. Three more Khent knights rushed to their fellow soldier's aid, but Kaim killed them with a simple swing of his sword that sliced them across the chest one second before he swung his sword again to kill another Khent soldier that recklessly lunged in the air towards him. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

Seeing two more Khent soldiers preparing to attack, he ran towards one of them, blocking the second knight's sword strike and pushing him out of the way in the process. When he got to the first of the two armored warriors, Kaim blocked the enemy's sword strike, then he slid his sword to the rain guard of the enemy soldier's blade, allowing him to swipe the Khent soldier's sword, attach it to his own sword, and smash it on the enemy's head, the resulting impact shattering not Kaim's blade, but the Khent knight's blade to pieces.

Kaim soon saw three more Magic Khent Soldiers running towards his position and pushed the now deceased Khent knight off his blade with his boot, leaving him to drop to the ground. One Khent soldier ran up to Argonar and prepared to kill him as he raised his weapon, but Kaim swung his sword and dealt the black-armored knight a deadly slash across the chest, disposing of him. Then, Argonar turned his attention to the other black-armored Khent knight and with another swing of his sword, Kaim slashed through the soldier's chest and killed him. After that, Argonar quickly struck down the third Khent knight and fatally dispatched him. But he still wasn't done yet.

Seeing several more Khent soldiers marching towards him, Kaim ran at them, slicing his way through nine Magic Khent Soldiers as he did so. When he got to the marching soldiers, Kaim jumped and attacked the leader of his team with a mighty kick that toppled the armored beastman, causing him to fall backwards on another soldier, who fell backwards on a third soldier, and so on, and so on. Soon, all the soldiers had fallen to the ground and by the time that the black-armored knight in front began to get up, Kaim leapt up and attacked with a fatal downward stab to the chest. A second later, he pulled his weapon out of the chest of his deceased foe and moved to the others. However, the soldier that had marched behind the leader got up, raised his shield and used it to block Argonar's assault just before he kicked Kaim's sword into the air. The Khent soldier then swung his sword at Kaim, but Kaim dodged that swing. Another swing, Kaim dodged. Finally the Khent soldier decided to thrust his sword into his opponent's head, but Kaim grabbed the sword and broke it in two with his bare hands.

"What the...?" the black-armored man said as he looked in surprise at the hilt-shard of his weapon. Sadly for him, those were his last words. Kaim impaled the doomed man's neck on the broken blade of the soldier's sword. Argonar then finished the now-dead Khent soldier off with a mighty uppercut that knocked him into the air for a few seconds before he crashed down to the ground. Kaim's sword fell out of the sky and landed blade first in the Khent soldier's chest. A second later, he pulled the sword out of the dead man's chest and held it out in front of him.

All the Khent soldiers that stood in front of Kain stood silently, visibly shaken by the one-man rampage that they witnessed. And then...

"Fall back!" shouted one of the soldiers.

"What?" said the others.

"I said fall back!"

"Private," said the general, "we have him outnumbered. We need not run from him!"

"But sir, we're no match for him!" wailed the private.

"Don't be a fool! He is just one man! Attack!"

"No!" shouted the private, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

Having heard enough of the private's excuses, the general fatally impaled him in the gut with his sword and killed him. The general pulled his sword out of the dead private's body and a second after that, the dead soldier fell to the ground. Then the general turned to his fellow soldiers.

"You can either die in duty or by my hand. The choice is yours," said the general.

After seeing the sad fate of the private that wanted to retreat, the soldiers made their choice. One of the Magic Khent Soldiers raised his sword in the air and yelled, "For Gohtza! For glory! For victory!"

All of the other soldiers of Khent followed their fellow warrior's lead, raised their swords high in the air, and shouted "For Gohtza! For glory! For victory!"

And with a hearty yell, they chose to charge into battle with Uhran Lieutenant Kaim Argonar. Once again, Kaim came face to face with men that chose to throw their lives away for a chance to prove that the man wasn't unstoppable. Once again, Kaim was forced into battle with men that chose death over peace. As he once again prepared for battle, Kaim muttered to himself, "My God, what fools these people be."


	5. Soldiers of Steel and Fire

**Chapter 5: Soldiers of Steel and Fire**

How many generals paid Kaim for his services? How many battles has he taken part in? How many people fell by his sword? How many lives were wasted in conflict? How many times has he been a part of war? Although he physically does not look the part, the mere fact that he survived while all others have perished all those times says only one word: Countless.

Alas, that is his life, his curse, his fate. For he is a mercenary, a warrior sworn to serve anyone who can afford his services. For years, Kaim has walked the earth, moving from town to town, country to country, battlefield to battlefield, fighting in the name of those who are wealthy enough to buy his talents. In one town, there were people that wanted him to be their sheriff, while in another town, its inhabitants wanted him to be a bounty hunter. If the price was right, he could be a spy for one country, or a diplomat for another. Nonetheless, every day, he is paid to fight for the cause of others.

But today, he is Kaim Argonar, Second Lieutenant of the military of Uhra, Commander of the 17th Division of the Armored Magic Troopers of the Magic Republic of Uhra, and right now, he had a job to do, for his is not to ask, but to fight.

Kaim made the first move. He ran up to five of the Magic Khent Soldiers and immediately dispatched all of them with one swing of his sword. One Khent soldier ran up to Kaim from the left and attacked him but Kaim blocked the man's attack and counter-attacked with a deadly slash to his chest. Kaim then turned his attention to three more Khent knights and with one swipe, he opened their foreheads. Two Khent soldiers attacked him but Kaim blocked their attacks and countered with an attack that beheaded the men. But the lone fighter wasn't done yet.

Kaim ran up to a row of five Magic Khent Soldiers and decapitated all of them with one swing of his sword. Then, he moved to three more Khent soldiers and fatally slashed them in their chests. Then he rapidly moved to four more Khent knights and slashed them in their abdomens, causing their entrails to spill out. Kaim then turned to his left and lopped off the legs of two approaching Khent soldiers. Then he turned to his right and beheaded two more. Then another black-armored Khent knight ran towards the mercenary knight and swung his sword at him, but Kaim blocked the swing before he countered with a smashing downward vertical slash that cleaved his opponent's helmet and head in two.

Soon, some of the Magic Khent Soldiers got daring and decided to go on the offensive. One Khent knight charged forward at Kaim with his sword in front of him, but Argonar swiftly sidestepped the soldier's charge and sliced the knight's head off as he passed to eliminate him. Then, another Khent soldier slashed at Kaim, but he ducked the soldier's swing and stabbed him in the neck, killing the knight. Another Khent soldier launched an attack on the lone mercenary, but Argonar dodged the soldier's swing, cut off the man's legs, and stabbed the knight in the head.

Now, some more of the Magic Khent Soldiers got really mad and decided to attempt a charge, but Kaim was ready for them. With a swift swing of his sword, Kaim beheaded seven enemy soldiers that ran towards him, then he turned to his left and fatally slashed four more soldiers in the abdomen. Then he turned to his right and saw an enemy soldier running towards him and swinging his sword at the mercenary, but Kaim blocked the swing and countered with a fatal slash to the soldier's abdomen.

Kaim then turned back to his front just in time to guard against a charging Khent soldier's attack. After successfully blocking the strike, the Lieutenant attacked with a deadly slash to the soldier's face. Kaim then turned to the left and blocked an approaching Khent soldier's sword slash and responded with a swing that horizontally sliced him in half. The bisected armored beastman lived long enough to see his the lower half of his body fall to the mucky ground.

Kaim glanced behind him and saw four more Khent soldiers running towards him. With a quick swing, Kaim dispatched all four of them. Kaim then took the time to gaze upon this gory tableau of war. Everywhere he looked, soldiers were killing soldiers by either slashing and stabbing them with their swords, pummeling them with their fists, or using their war machines to crush, launch, or incinerate them. Whether Kaim felt regret as he gazed upon the chaos that this war had wrought, or humility at how quickly a good world can be turned into a nightmare, only the fates knew for sure.

As Argonar watched this savage conflict to which he had somehow gained a front row seat, one Khent soldier noticed that the Uhran lieutenant had his back turned and the armored knight charged toward him with his sword drawn. However, Kaim quickly turned around and stabbed him in the chest, fatally disposing of him. Then, Argonar saw thirteen Khent soldiers running towards him with their weapons drawn. One by one, the thirteen attacked. And one by one, Kaim blocked and countered their attacks, killing six of them in the process.

Soon, the remaining seven encircled Kaim. Kaim looked around and saw that the soldiers had surrounded him, leaving him with no escape outlets. There was one soldier in front of him, one soldier at his left, two soldiers at his right, and three behind him. He had nowhere to run, which suited him just fine.

Kaim sensed movement, quickly turned around, and saw the Khent soldier in front of him drawing his sword. Then, the enemy ran towards Kaim and swung his sword at his neck, but Kaim blocked the Khent soldier's attack. Then the Khent soldier swung his blade at his waist, but Kaim blocked that swing too. Then the Khent soldier swung at Argonar's head, but Kaim swung his weapon at the same time to defend himself, causing both of them to go into a blade lock. After a few seconds of locking swords, Kaim pushed the enemy soldier away, then he struck the knight in the neck with his elbow, then Kaim did a leg sweep that knocked him to the ground.

Kaim turned to his left and saw the second soldier draw his weapon. The soldier charged at Kaim and swung his sword, but Kaim blocked the enemy's attack. The soldier decided to stab Kaim, but Kaim swerved to avoid the attack. The soldier swung again at Kaim, but the lieutenant blocked the swing and disarmed the enemy, who Kaim then stabbed in the neck.

Kaim looked right and saw the third and fourth soldier charge at him. Both swung their swords at him, but he blocked their strikes. Kaim blocked the third soldier's second strike seconds before he disarmed him, then he blocked the fourth soldier's strikes, and then he beheaded them both in one swing.

Kaim then turned and saw three of the remaining Khent soldiers rushing at Kaim, brandishing their weapons as they did so. The three soldiers swung their swords at Argonar at the same time, but Kaim blocked their attacks just as they struck and he immediately countered with his own attack, which was countered by their counterattack, which Kaim then countered with a counter that knocked the soldiers off balance, thus allowing him to do a roundhouse kick that knocked down the soldiers.

Kaim seemingly did not notice that one of the four Khent soldiers that he didn't kill got up and picked up his sword. And he seemingly didn't notice And the soldier not-so-seemingly thought that it would be easy for him to attack Kaim when the mercenary wasn't looking. Just then, Kaim stabs the grunt in the neck without looking back, thus proving the Khent soldier's assumption that Kaim didn't notice the soldier sneaking up behind him completely incorrect.

The three soldiers that were kicked to the ground earlier got up just in time to see Kaim pull the sword out of the now-dead soldier's neck without watching him fall. Then suddenly, the trio of Khent soldiers charged at Kaim in a brave effort to avenge their dead comrades.

The three Khent soldiers charged across the short space at Kaim. They rained down countless blows upon Argonar, but he stood his ground, never budging an inch. The trio aimed every cut and thrust at the lieutenant, but he dodged and parried every blow that they struck. Then, Kaim entered a grapple with the three soldiers and knocked them back, leaving them open to an attack. Kaim rained down numerous blows upon the trio, pressing forward while pushing them back. Then, with a massive swing, Kaim disarmed the soldiers, leaving them defenseless. Argonar swung his sword again, but the trio dodged and rolled under his swing. Picking up some discarded swords, the three soldiers got up and swung at Kaim, who blocked the strikes, thus beginning a grand three-on-one sword fight.

Kaim held her own against the trio of soldiers, who in turn held their own against him. The combatants ducked every high swing and leaped over every low swing and dodged every other swing with their acrobatics. After four minutes of this, Kaim executed a swing that knocked a soldier's sword out of his hand, therefore allowing him to stab him in the head, neck, and chest. The soldier died before he fell to the ground. One down, two to go. Kaim then divided his attentions between the two Khent soldiers. Despite their valiant efforts, the two soldiers were unable to land a hit on Kaim, who deftly blocked, repelled, dodged, and evaded their swings until one of them got tired and left himself wide open. Kaim sliced that Khent soldier's head in half with a strong horizontal slash. Now there was only one Khent soldier left for Kaim to face.

Both Kaim and the black-armored Khent soldier were locked in each other's steely gaze as the war continued around them. The two combatants circled each other, looking for an opening. Finally, after a few minutes, the Uhran lieutenant and the Khent soldier suddenly ran towards each other with their swords at the ready and attacked each other in a duel that was fierce and savage, but also tragically short, for after ninety seconds of dueling each other, Kaim slashed his opponent in the stomach, slashed the knight again in the neck, and finally stabbed the opponent in the head. The Khent soldier was now completely dead at Kaim's hand. Lieutenant Argonar pushed the lifeless corpse out of the way and marched towards the opposing army, without even looking at the soldier's dead body fall.

This battle was witnessed by the general, who growled in rage and said, "Enough games! Bring in the tank! He will burn for what he has done to our soldiers!"

Soon, the Khent armies wheeled in one of the Heavy Khent Tanks. At the exact same time, Kaim marched forward through the battle. Then he saw two more Khent soldiers running at him from his left, and he killed them after a quick sword fight. However, Kaim glanced to his right and saw three more Khent soldiers running towards him, but the soldiers quickly stopped in their tracks and backed away. Kaim did not know why. Then he saw the Heavy Khent Tank making its entrance onto the battlefield. With its dual flamethrowers and massive blade, the tank towered over the battlefield in a menacing manner as it lumbered into the chaotic arena and aimed its weapons at the lone warrior. Kaim stood perfectly still as the tank charged up its weapons, then the tank used its flamethrowers to fire a plume of fire at Kaim, who raised his sword sideways to his face and repelled the flames for a short while before he dispersed the fire with a swing of his sword. After it finished its attack, the Heavy Khent Tank lumbered forward towards Kaim on its six massive wheels, not caring in the least that the tank's target didn't even singe. Kaim then went into a defensive stance as he waited for the mechanical mammoth machine to enter his range. While the lieutenant waited, Kaim took a look at his surroundings.

From the looks of things, it seemed that the soldiers of Uhra were gaining ground over the soldiers of Khent. As the Uhran soldiers sliced through the ranks of the Khent soldiers, the Uhran tanks mowed through the battlefield, striking down the enemy soldiers. However, every time a battalion was struck down, a healing tower from either the Uhran or Khent army brought the soldiers back to life. The battle still looked like it could go either way.

When the Heavy Khent Tank finally got into range, Argonar made his move. Kaim rushed forward and attacked the Heavy Khent Tank's Right Unit. In response, the Right Unit's defense system got activated by Kaim's attack, causing the tank to fire a magma blast at Kaim. The attack knocked Kaim down, but he quickly got back up. Kaim then rushed forward and attacked the Heavy Tank's Left Unit, causing the Right Unit's defense to deactivate. However, it had the side effect of activating the Left Unit's defense. The tank then blasted Kaim with its dual streams of fire from its turrets, but Argonar was still standing.

Kaim quickly learned that when one unit is attacked, its defenses activated, causing the other unit to deactivate its defenses in the process. The Uhran lieutenant decided to use that information to his advantage. Kaim attacked the right turret, and the tank fired a magma blast. Kaim dodged the attack and responded by attacking the left turret, which caused the tank to attack with its flamethrowers. Kaim dodged the flames and attacked the right turret. Then the Heavy Tank raised its huge blade. Realizing what would happen, Kaim leaped out of the way just before the tank blade dropped to the ground with a crash.

Kaim got up just in time to get into a fight with seven Magic Khent Soldiers that ran to him. The seven Magic Khent Soldiers were skilled with their swords, but Argonar war far, far better. While he was doing battle with his seven opponent Kaim was the only one of the eight combatants who saw the tank gather up energy for another mighty magma blast attack. Kaim leaped out of the way a split second before the tank fired its weapon and unleashed a magma blast that blew the Khent soldiers to pieces, killing them instantly.

Kaim then attacked the left turret, which caused the tank to attack with its flamethrower attack. Kaim dodged the attack and attacked the right turret, which caused the tank to fire another magma blast. Kaim dodged the attack and attacked the left turret, which caused the tank to fire its twin flame streams. Kaim dodged the attack just in time to see the tank raise its blade. However, he only had time to defensively raise his sword above his head before the blade smashed him into the ground. The soldiers that witnessed this believed that the lieutenant did not survive this apparently fatal attack. However, the soldiers also saw something incredible. The soldiers saw something surprising. The soldiers saw Kaim slowly getting back up.

Five Magic Khent Soldiers were as shocked as everyone else. This lone warrior should've been slain after at least one magma blast, or at least one flamethrower attack, or at least a blow from the tank's blade. But there he was, still standing after a parade of the tank's fiery attacks. And now, he's about to face another. Having seen enough, the five Khent knights ran at Kaim, brandishing their swords. Kaim, however, was the only one who noticed the cannons gather energy for a big flamethrower attack. Three seconds later, he turned around and saw the Magic Khent Soldiers rush towards him. Kaim ducked a split second before the tank fired its weapon. The tank then blasted the Magic Khent Soldiers, instantly incinerating them. The Khent knights ran around screaming in pain as their bodies were burning, but Kaim got up and silenced them by swiftly beheading them one by one.

Kaim then attacked the Heavy Khent Tank's Right Unit yet again. This time, Kaim's attack caused the turret to malfunction. Soon, electricity crackled around the right turret for a few seconds. Then finally, the tank's right turret blew up, flew off its hinges, and crashed into the ground. This caused the tank's Left Unit to deactivate its defenses. The tank then raised its huge blade yet again in preparation for one last desperate attempt to dispose of this lone Uhran soldier, but in response, Kaim attacked the tank's left turret, causing it to malfunction. Soon, the left turret also blew up, flew off its hinges and fell to the ground. Then the tank's blade fell to the ground with a loud crash, thus revealing the tank's Magic Engine.

"Perfect," said Kaim to himself as he saw electricity crackle around the malfunctioning war machine, "Now to end this."

Kaim ran to the malfunctioning mechanized machine, jumped onto its huge blade, ran up and leaped off the improvised ramp, and forcefully stabbed the Heavy Khent Tank's Magic Engine. All the soldiers that fought amongst each other watched as he plunged his blade into red, cyclopean, eye-like apparatus. Then using his sword, Argonar jumped off the tank and landed onto the ground, doing a stylish backflip before he landed. Then, seconds later, the armless Heavy Khent Tank exploded and collapsed into the ground in a smoldering heap of metal.

Kaim looked at his handiwork before he turned around and walked away. Anyone else would've felt at least a small amount of satisfaction for their efforts, but not Kaim. As he walked away from the carnage, Kaim felt only pity and said to himself, "Is this it? Is this what my life is for?"


	6. The Immortal

**Chapter 6: The Immortal**

As he walked away from the ruins of the Heavy Khent Tank that he did battle with, Lieutenant Kaim Argonar looked around at the madness that was being wrought. Everywhere he looked, he saw chaos in all its forms. Many Armored Magic Troopers were engaged in swordfights with many Magic Khent Soldiers, while many Heavy Khent Tanks were doing battle with many Uhran Heavy Tanks. When they weren't smashing the Uhran tanks to pieces, they were either crushing soldiers to death with their massive blades or incinerating them with their turrets. Then Kaim quickly got surrounded by several Magic Khent Soldiers. All of them had their weapons trained on him. All of them were ready to fight to the death. All of them did not care that their opponent had just recently destroyed one of their Magma Tanks after killing a massive amount of their fellow soldiers.

"We've got him now," said one of the Khent soldiers.

"He can't kill us all," said another soldier.

"Yeah, he can't stop us all," agreed another soldier.

Once again, Kaim walked into a pointless conflict. Once again, he worked with people that were doomed to die around him. Once again, Kaim was involved in a battle that no one else but him would survive. But Kaim did not suspect that this time, things would be different.

It started soon after Argonar got himself surrounded by the many soldiers of Khent. All of the soldiers were prepared to fight Kaim to the death. Then suddenly, the sky grew ominously dark and the thick grey clouds turned black. All the soldiers that surrounded Kaim quickly took notice.

"Hey! What's happening?" said one soldier.

"The sky's going dark!" said another.

"What's going on?" said another.

Soon, every single soldier on the battlefield took notice of the darkening sky above them and stopped trying to kill each other. Even the tanks stopped tearing each other apart. Eventually, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the blackening skies. Finally, Kaim looked up at the now ominously dark sky. Then the clouds slowly opened up and everyone, including Kaim, took notice.

Suddenly, a massively huge meteor appeared in the sky, blotting out the sun. The sight of such a thing hovering over the battlefield shocked everyone because no one had ever seen anything like it. The meteor's presence proved to be more ominous than either the Heavy Khent Tanks or the dark sky.

Then, IT happened. The meteor began its slow descent and unleashed a rain of deadly, molten lava upon the unready battlefield along with a storm of huge meteor fragments. Realizing the scope of the situation, everyone ran for their lives. However, this didn't do them any good.

In the middle of the Wohl Highlands, a giant meteor fragment fell from the sky to the ground, crushing anyone or anything that stood under there. Upon impact with the ground, the meteorite shattered into many big chunks of rock that went flying all over the area, smashing all that was in their path. Many soldiers fled, but a big piece of the fallen meteor chunk flew towards them and smashed them to a lifeless pulp. The massive rock was followed by streams of lava that bounced off the huge meteorite and onto the battlefield. Soon, the falling magma splashed all over the area, causing incredible chaos. As rivers of lava plummeted down on the place, soldiers got swept up by the flow and incinerated in the hot lava, tanks melted and collapsed in its molten current, and escape proved futile. Some soldiers hid behind a fallen tank, some soldiers climbed on top of a Magma Tank's blade to escape, and some even tried climbing up the resurrection towers to flee the burning downpour. But unfortunately, all their efforts proved to be for naught as the rain of magma thwarted their escape and burned the soldiers to ashes. It didn't matter if they were from Uhra or Gohtza, the warriors perished the same way.

Truly, this was quite a sight to behold. As the meteor fell, massive waterfalls of lava rained down from the heavens, consuming the flesh of friend and foe alike, melting and dismantling their machines, drenching the battlefield in an earthen red sea, causing unbelievable destruction as this cataclysm destroyed all thay lay in its path of devastation, while some soldiers-who aren't killed anyway-fled for their existences. Somehow, through it all, Kaim managed to find his way to a nearby cliff. And there he stood, silently watching as the meteor continued to slowly plummet towards the Wohl Highlands, despite the fact that he was surprised by the appearance of the meteor. Then, the meteor crashed on the battlefield, causing a deadly blast wave that swept the area. The soldiers tried to flee, but the blast swept them up and killed them instantly, but Kaim just mutely watched, never budging, never shifting, never moving from his spot. Finally, the blast swept up Kaim and continued its destructive path. Soldiers ran as fast as they can, but the wave killed them all. Then, everything was a swirling torrent of fire, light, smoke, noise and chaos.

* * *

_A Few Minutes Later..._

As the skies cleared up, the sun came out of hiding to look and shine upon the aftermath. It appeared that the battle of the Highlands of Wohl had at last come to an end. However, it ended in a manner that was most unexpected.

Before the meteor came, this place was the setting of an epic struggle. Thousands of soldiers fought against each other in a battle that was waged between two countries, each one trying to triumph over the other. When the meteor came, it no longer mattered which side would be victorious.

Thanks to the meteor, the Wohl Highlands had been turned into a desolate disaster area. Volcanic ash and soot rained down on a landscape that was littered with cooling streams of lava, smoking bones and debris, smoldering piles of junk, and burning ruins of vehicles. This was all that could serve as evidence that a great disaster occured here and no one survived.

Well, _almost_ no one survived.

Out of the burning wreckage, against all odds, someone rose up. That someone was a familiar figure. This familiar figure was garbed in armor that revealed part of his back. He stood uneasily but firmly with his long black hair being mercilessly blown back by a wind thick with the fumes of war. He was supposed to die with all the others when the meteor hit. But Kaim Argonar survived.

Kaim took a long look around. Everywhere he looked, he saw death and devastation. What was once a battlefield teeming with soldiers was now converted into a barren volcanic wasteland. Kaim looked over the battlefield and saw only desolation, especially at the Hypocenter, which was the precise point of the meteor's impact. Kaim couldn't remember the last time he saw such destruction. He couldn't even remember the last time he saw so much death. In fact, he couldn't remember anything beyond his name and rank, not his country, not his title, especially not his past. Deciding that there was nothing for him here, Kaim simply walked away to the Gorge.

Today, Kaim Argonar was involved in an epic battle. He served as Second Lieutenant of the Magic Republic of Uhra's military and Commander of the 17th Division of the Uhra Armored Magic Troopers. He marched into battle alongside members of the Uhran army. He rushed forward into battle and fought against numerous members of the Gohtzan infantry. With each movement, he effortlessly dodged his enemies, and with every murderous swing of his sword, he efficiently killed his opponents. He singlehandedly destroyed a giant flame-spewing tank twenty times his size. And then, when he was prepared for more battle, he bore witness to an Armageddon.

He was there when the meteor unleashed its celestial fury. He watched helplessly but stoically as it unleashed a molten rain of earth and fire that drowned the battlefield in an ocean of magma. He watched as this show of heavenly rage savagely wiped out all that stood underneath the meteor's shadow. He was there standing at ground zero when the blast hit, charring the landscape and decimating all that lived. And when the nightmare ended, Kaim was the only one who rose from the ashes. And so it was that Kaim Argonar wandered through the Highlands of Wohl, his face shrouded with a vacant expression, for he is an immortal-a man of 1,000 years who stands in a wind thick with the fumes of war but cannot remember why.


End file.
